heart snipping

autumn is here; winter is coming; we all need warmth and complexity. challenges and hoar frost and plans for resolution. so i bought a rabbit. 

i think it stems from a part of me wanting something to rise up and meet me in the ritual of eating an animal. something with a different grain and more difficulty than simply wrapping whole chickens up in brown paper or unfurling the waxed tissue that the little shrimps come twisted up in. a rabbit comes whole (at least to me he did), sheathed in plastic in the self same seated position he may have been in right before his life was snuffed out. (sad, truly. but you cannot deny it is an animal when you snip away the packaging jacket and see him resting on the cutting board. he is an animal, here are his small feet, the nub of his tail, the force and fastness of the muscles that shot him through the grass. and it is a tender thing, i think, to apply yourself to dressing him.) and so i set out to butcher him in the most respectful way i could. laying aside his luminous heart as a marker on the cutting board: this little bundle of muscle propelled a living thing! and i divided him at his joints, using a sharp and swift knife, a little pot of burning sage and tobacco for thanks, and a plan to use all of him.

 

i saved the back bone and put it up with the chicken backs we freeze for stock. (rabbit and chicken have a similar flavor and a natural affinity for one another when mixed.)  then snipped the little organs from the cupped palms of the rabbit's ribs and made them into stock with onion, rosemary, bay and peppercorns.

then i browned him in butter and olive oil, tucked him into the le creuset with more onions, castelveldrano olives and so on to feed our little house while the cold crept in.

Rabbit Braised with Olives
(adapted from here, gotta love Mr. Bittman)

1 generous glug of olive oil
a thick curl off the end of a stick of butter with a small knife
1 rabbit, whole, about 2 1/2 pounds
2 sprigs fresh rosemary or a rounded teaspoon dried
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine, vermouth, sherry or marsala (marsala will make a decidedly different kind of dish, so if you decide on marsala adjust the rest of spices accordingly)
 2 to 3 cups chicken or rich vegetable stock (i used the rabbit stock above)
3 small chopped tomatoes or half a can of tinned tomatoes, diced (not pureed!)
two bay leaves
barest whiff of cinnamon or scratch across a whole nutmeg
fistful oil cured olives, green or black, chopped or whole depending on what you like to find happily speared on the end of your fork.
1 pound dried pasta ribbons, something substantial. i used tagliatelli but anything long will do

preheat the oven to 350.

warm the oil and float the butter in the bottom of a heavy bottomed and deep casserole or saucepan (or the dreamy le creuset) over medium heat. more oil for a bigger rabbit, less for a smaller one. brown the pieces of rabbit in batches if they will not all fit comfortably in the pan- crowd it too much and the meat will steam instead of sear.

remove the rabbit and set aside. add to the warm rabbit-seasoned oil the garlic and salt immediately to keep from burning. add the onions once the garlic has softened but before it's taken on color- about 3 minutes. season with rosemary, salt and pepper and stir until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes more.

remove the aromatics from the pan, raise the heat to medium high, and deglaze with the wine, stirring constantly to lift up anything that's stuck to the pan. when the wine has reduced to the consistency of runny honey (a matter of a few minutes) add the aromatics and the rabbit and stir. tip in the tomatoes, the olives, 2 and half cups of the stock, the bay leaves and the secret cinnamon or nutmeg. stir to distribute evenly.

put a top on the vessel and put into the oven for about an hour, checking to see if more moisture is necessary, if so use the reserved half cup stock or the juice from the tomato tin. it should be bubbling merrily but not furiously, adjust the oven for a happy medium if you need. when done the rabbit will be tender to the point of a knife and separate from the bone easily. it should not be falling off the bone of its own accord, this much cooking will dry the rabbit out. remove the larger pieces of rabbit from the vessel and remove the meat from the bones. shred slightly with a fork.  discard bones and tendons and stir meat back into the broth and tomatoes. (rabbit bones are no good for dog stomachs, too small and brittle. the abundant tendons and chewier bits are great however, so be generous in doling these out should you have any extra mouths that are interested.)

a half an hour before the rabbit is done, boil the water for pasta and cook the ribbons. drain the pasta most of the way, leaving a fair amount of pasta water clinging to the ribbons. toss the pasta directly in the vessel, tumble out on to plates and snow over with a fine drift of hard cheese.

this will taste slightly minerally and briny - in a good way. no dangerous gamey tastes with a gently cooked rabbit. the olives will cling nicely to the fork tines which is also quite pleasant.